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A Post In Three Parts

Living as missionaries in Ecuador, we often forget that what may be a common experience for us now might be somewhat of an adventure for you. With that in mind we want to share with you our weekend experiences. This weekend we began our concerted effort to visit all of our churches located outside of the city of Quito. To visit each church will require a little bit of travel, and we hope to be able to share quite a few interesting photos.

The first non-Quito church we choose to visit as a family was the one that Timothy knew the way to. Most churches on our visit list are in places unknown to us.

Part one: Where we stayed

In the future we hope to be able to visit the Cangahua congregation without first staying overnight in a hotel. With a two month old baby and the lack of sleep that she brings we decided it was safer to stay near the church than to try to travel early in the morning in order to make the morning service.

We stayed in one of the oldest buildings in Ecuador, a place called Guachala.

The Hacienda has a Catholic Chapel that was built on the remains of a ancient temple. The Chapel was built around 1580. It was the first building on the property and was the only place of Catholic worship in the region. In 1736, the Chapel was presided over by a Priest of 80 years, along with an acolyte who was one of his children. The other participants in the service were the children of the Priest and his five concubines.

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In 1922 socialist revolutionaries looted the Chapel of all its religious icons and wealth. This is the alter today. We think it is interesting that after the looting the Catholic church considered the place profaned and no longer allowed services to be held. Strange that the church did not consider the Chapel profane in 1736.

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Part two: Where we worshiped

The Cangahua Church of God is located high above the pueblo of Cangahua on Mt. Cayambe. Part of our family had visited before but this was the first time that both Angelita and Adelena were able to attend with the family. Face time with each church is very important because although we meet with each pastor at the monthly pastors’ meeting we have yet to meet over half of our Children of Promise participants (please click on the link to learn more about this part of our ministry).

The drive to our Cangahua Congregation is quite the adventure! Google maps does not recognize this road.

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Part three: A treat for the kids

On our way home we stopped at a public park in the city of Cayambe. We try to involve our children in as much of what we do as possible. We also try to avail ourselves of any opportunity to pour into the lives of our kids.

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Thank you for taking this adventure with us! Regardless if you pray for us regularly, read and share our updates, or support us financially we are proud to be part of your life. And we are honored that you are part of our lives. We love serving Christ in Ecuador and we love that you are on the journey with us!

Published by Our Mission Path

Ministry Focus:
Teaching in the Church of God seminary and assisting with Children of Promise and other programs meeting social needs
Timothy was raised in the Breiel Boulevard Church of God in Middletown, Ohio. A passion for missions was planted in his heart by his parents Darlene and Cordell and his grandmother Ruth. He received his call to ministry on a short-term mission trip to Panama. To prepare for this calling, he attended Mid-America Christian University.
Angelita was born in Wisconsin to Manuel and Tomasa Garcia. She worshiped and served in her local congregation from a young age. She transferred to Mid-America Christian University during her sophomore year of college, where she and Timothy met.
After getting married, the Downings served Christ in pastoral ministry in Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Ohio. They have four children: Timothy, 12; Esperanza, 8; Ezequiel, 3; and Elias, 1.
The Downing family prayer is: “Allow us to see Christ clearly so we may follow him closely.” It is that heart cry that that has led them to missionary service in Ecuador. Timothy, Angelita, and their children are committed to serving Christ in Ecuador by training leaders at S.E.T.E. (Church of God seminary) and assisting with the Children of Promise program.
Project # 42.10063
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